


A Melody Pure

by KnifeofIce



Category: Ookiku Furikabutte | Big Windup!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 10:05:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2847095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KnifeofIce/pseuds/KnifeofIce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sakaeguchi Yuuto is the new business owner in town. Part of Bookshop AU. Written for Oofuri Secret Santa as a gift!</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Melody Pure

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



He can remember the day clearly.  

Walking around to the local businesses, cards in a pocket and carrying a tray filled with small terracotta pots of jasmine flowers, he smiled and asked to be kept in mind should anyone in the business need flowers. Bowing out of the bookshop, lingering perhaps a few seconds too long to watch the handsome owner place his flowerpot next to the register at the counter, he looked down at the tray and saw a solitary pot left. One more shop to visit. He was tired, and his cheeks were slightly sore from smiling so much. First impressions were everything. Sakaeguchi shivered slightly at the early autumn chill in the air. The last place to go was the coffee shop. Maybe he could warm up with a cup of hot chocolate. The thought made him forget the fatigue in his face as he smiled to himself.  

The coffee shop was small and a couple of streets over from his flower shop. Plain-looking from the outside, compared to the other places he had already visited. A simple sign in the window, no flashy colors, no outside displays. Inside were a few customers sitting at the small tables. Some looked like college students, others like businesspeople on their breaks, sneaking in a quick check of their emails while sipping on their drinks. It had a sophisticated, modern feel to it with dark wooden countertops and cold metal tables and chairs, and more natural than artificial light.   

A small tap on his left shoulder made him jump, nearly sending the single small pot flying. He stammered a quick and flustered apology for spacing out as he turned to see a man in a dark apron, looking confused by his reaction. A quick glance at the nametag told Sakaeguchi all he needed to know, as he offered the lonely jasmine blossom, tucking the now-empty tray under an arm and offering his business card, head bowed low, both hands extended. As he felt it leave his hands, he realized he never got a good look at the face of the person receiving it from him.   

The person looking down at him cocked an eyebrow, sharp angle of his jaw leading to his unsmiling lips, not unkind, merely questioning. His dark hair was short and unkempt, but overall, he was rather intimidating. Abe Takaya.   

He wouldn’t learn until a few weeks later that the flutter in his chest right then was his heart skipping a beat.   

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————  

It was the same routine every morning.   

The coffee shop would open extremely early—that was when people needed their coffee the most, after all— and Abe would deal with the morning rush of customers. Sakaeguchi would come in when things died down and Abe would make him his usual half-hot chocolate, half-coffee mix. Once a week, he would bring in a  box with small vases of seasonal flowers to put on each table in the café. He would rotate through various colors and kinds of flowers, pink cosmos one week, purple nadeshiko the next, blue asagao after those, and so on.   

If Abe had a spare moment, he would take a quick break and lean against the counter while Sakaeguchi sipped his own drink, both discussing any recent events within their small community of young entrepreneurs. It always seemed to take a bit of work, but once Abe warmed up, it was difficult for Sakaeguchi to look him in the eyes. The small smile accentuated his strong facial features, and his heart rate quickened.

He found out that Abe also had a fondness for baseball, having played in high school like he had. Early autumn had been a time of much excited chatter as they followed the various teams through the Fall Tournament. Abe’s eyes lit up with an eagerness rarely seen from the coffee shop owner, but Sakaeguchi couldn’t help but think that look suited him much better than his usual neutral frown. He must have still worked out, the way the muscles in his arms, back, shoulders, tightened and loosened as he reached out to grab various syrups, teas, and coffee beans while he worked, before he realized Sakaeguchi was standing and waiting for their usual morning meeting. Sakaeguchi made no effort to interrupt him.

Sometimes Abe would be in a particularly sour mood, snapping at his barista, grabbing mugs and cups with a near-palpable annoyance, slamming them down with more force than necessary. Sakaeguchi could almost see the effort he was giving to not snap at him too, when he came in. Sometimes he would be in a particularly cheery mood, in which his face was more what other people would term “lukewarm”. Sakaeguchi knew when he saw that that it was a good day to talk.

One day, Sakaeguchi arrived a few minutes later than usual after a frantic and rushed morning routine. He had slept through his first alarm and didn’t awaken to his backup until it was almost time for him to leave, if he wanted to make it to the shop on time. His head throbbed, eyelids weighed a ton, nose stuffed and there was a distinct tickle in the back of his throat that caused him to cough in an attempt to relieve it. He couldn’t afford to stay home with all of the business coming in from the word spreading around town. On his way out the door, he had grabbed a surgical mask from the small box buried behind various toiletries, hidden away from the last time he had gotten sick. Abe took one look at him, frowned disapprovingly, then went back behind the counter without a word to presumably bring Sakaeguchi back his usual drink. Instead, he brought back a cup with a steaming transparent green liquid inside, and two ibuprofen tablets.

"You shouldn’t go to work if you feel as awful as you look," he pointed out, shoving both towards Sakaeguchi, who pulled down the mask and blew a bit on the tea to cool it. He popped both tablets in his mouth and took a sip of the tea to help them down, a strong flavor trailing down his throat with them.

"Don’t sugar coat it at all." His sarcasm had a touch more bite to it than he had wanted. "Is that peppermint?"

"Helps to numb your throat and clear up any congestion. Some people think it’s antiviral too." Abe shrugged at the last statement, obviously not quite believing it himself. Sakaeguchi took another sip of the tea, letting the steam rise up to his nose—he could feel his airways start to open up more, able to smell a bit of the peppermint. He sighed with the temporary relief.

Abe half-turned, most likely to get back to work, but he stopped and looked back at Sakaeguchi, a strange look in his eyes as his brow furrowed.

"If you get any worse, you should go home. You’re flushed." He lingered for another couple of seconds, but Sakaeguchi’s only reaction was to look up at him and nod.

"Thank you, Abe."

He wasn’t sure if he had heard, but Sakaeguchi had to get to work right then anyway. He quickly left the coffee shop, holding the cup of tea with both hands and letting it warm his fingertips. He paused when he was out of sight of the shop windows and shook his head, ignoring the ache, trying to calm the heat rising into his face that had nothing to do with fever, and everything to do with realizing the look of concern and worry Abe had worn before making the tea especially for him.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————  

Sakaeguchi backed out of the shop, shutting the door carefully after double checking the temperature settings inside the cooler. People were starting to order custom Christmas wreaths. He had to make sure everything was kept in proper order and at appropriate temperatures and humidities to minimize damage.   

He locked the door with a sigh, thinking about all of the arranging work he had for the next day, since the delivery came late. It all had to be done by tomorrow. He was starting to think it would be a good idea to get in early. His breath escaped him in a small, visible puff. A chill ran through him and he pulled his scarf tight around his neck. Winter was settling in too quickly for his liking. Soon it would start to snow. He was definitely more down when there was so little sunlight, but the bright moon reflecting off the flakes and the hush that seemed to befall wherever was blanketed was peaceful and calming. The thought perked him up as he readjusted the strap to his bag sitting across his shoulder and he turned from the door to begin his walk home in the dark.   

His heart hammered into his throat when he noticed a shadowy figure not two meters away from the door of his shop standing against the display window, arm extended and a steaming cup of something was practically shoved in his face. His eyes flicked up to see the dark eyes reflecting surprise in the moonlight. The figure’s unoccupied hand pulled down at the scarf covering the lower half of his face.   

"Hey, it’s just me, calm down."   

Sakaeguchi sighed in relief, hunching over to put a hand to his chest, as though it would slow his quickened heartbeat.   

"You could have said something…!" he cried out, adrenaline starting to subside. Abe must have been standing there that whole time he had been locking up.   

Sakaeguchi straightened up and looked into Abe’s concerned eyes, his own traveling to follow his arm down to a steaming cup of…

“It’s hot chocolate. Colder than usual today.”

“Ah, thanks! You didn’t have to do that,” he replied, his keyring jingling as he shoved it into his bag and gratefully received the cup, instantly warming his fingers. “Wait, what are you doing here so late anyway?” The coffee shop always closed a lot earlier than his own—most of the business was done in the morning anyway.

Abe didn’t make eye contact as he rubbed the back of his neck. “End of the year things and inventory. I just got out a few minutes ago and thought I would stop by to see if you were still here before I headed home.”

"Yeah well…I ended up staying later than usual." He took a sip of the hot chocolate—just barely cool enough to sip slowly and not scorch his tongue. It felt good going down. It warmed him from the inside out and he let out a content hum. "Do you live around here?"

"Not too far. A half hour walk past the clothing shop and the Italian restaurant that way," Abe replied, pointing a fingered glove in the general direction that Sakaeguchi had been about to go.

"We should walk together then! I live that way too." Sakaeguchi took a leading step in that direction and Abe promptly followed suit. They hadn’t had much time to talk in the mornings lately because of the holiday rushes. Everyone seemed to be extra busy with work before the New Year, and so needed more caffeine than usual. Others were busy ordering bouquets and arrangements for their sweethearts for Christmas Eve, giving the flower shop plenty of business in its first holiday season of being open.

They spoke of the mysterious guy in a beanie that seemed to hang around the bookshop a lot. Sakaeguchi had run into him while talking to Suyama, the bookshop’s owner. He was quite tall and definitely handsome. He seemed to go to the shop quite a bit, and would always appear to be massively uncomfortable, seeing that Sakaeguchi was talking to Suyama. Suyama would always brighten up quite a bit when this mystery-man showed up. He would wave a little, and the mystery-man would go down one of the aisles, never to be seen by Sakaeguchi again that day. One time, however, Sakaeguchi left the shop and paused outside, glancing through the windows to see the mystery-man peek out from around a bookshelf corner. He watched as the two started talking animatedly, and walked away wondering what their relationship was.

They told each other of silly customer stories, some funny, some vaguely reminiscent enough of their own customers to cause a small headache. Abe spoke of one that seems to come in once a week just to tease him by asking him to change the order at least three times while he’s making it. His jaw tensed and the lines of his face hardened as he mentioned that he could probably tell if there was a freckle out of place on this particular customer’s face, he’s had to look at him so many times. Sakaeguchi couldn’t help but laugh. He could see why this customer might want to tease Abe if he reacted like that, even if he wouldn’t be brave enough to do it himself.

"So," Abe started, hands in his pocket and looking down at Sakaeguchi. "What are you doing Christmas Eve?"

He nearly choked on his sip of hot chocolate when it went down the wrong pipe. He hoped his coughing fit would hide his embarrassment as the heat seemed to flare from his core outwards and up to the tips of his ears. This guy…so forward…!

He stopped coughing and caught his breath, but before he could think of any kind of reply, Abe stepped into his personal space, within centimeters of him, blocking out the moonlight. Sakaeguchi felt a small pressure on either side of his neck and he sharply inhaled.

"Are you getting sick again? Your face is almost as flushed as that last time," he said softly with what sounded like a hint of annoyance, but the gentle tugging to readjust Sakaeguchi’s scarf suggested otherwise. "And maybe think about earmuffs or a hat or something. You lose a lot of heat through your ears and head."

Sakaeguchi’s first instinct was to pull away. He was certain Abe could hear his heart pounding nearly out of his chest. He kept his eyes looking at the angle of Abe’s jaw, eyes flicking up to accidentally lock with Abe’s. It was a mistake. It felt as though Abe could read his mind, with how fervently he looked back.

He’s going to know, he’s going to find out, he’s going to realize….

And then the pulling stopped, but Abe didn’t move. He lingered for another few seconds that easily could have been an eternity if you asked Sakaeguchi, then moved away, resuming his place on Sakaeguchi’s left side. Without another word, he began walking again, Sakaeguchi left momentarily paralyzed, unsure what to make of what just happened. He snapped out of it, and hastily made up the distance between them, still not able to even look up at the other.

A few minutes passed in silence.

"Nothing," Sakaeguchi muttered against the scarf that was now pressing up to his mouth. They were only about 25 meters from his apartment building.

"What?"

"Nothing. For Christmas Eve," he said louder and more definitively. The burning feeling in his ears was back. He’d have to consider earmuffs.

"Oh. I see. Me neither."

"Ah th-this is me. I’ll see you later!" Sakaeguchi turned into his building without seeing the surprised look on Abe’s face or how his hand had been halfway out of his coat pocket to flag him down one last time.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

It was cold enough for him to feel his cheeks burning from the breeze. A quick scarf readjustment fixed the issue as he chanced a glance up at Abe’s expression. Not particularly enthralled, but definitely not irritated either. Well, if something was wrong, he at least knew Abe wouldn’t make it a secret. His stomach churned with anxiety and a small thrill. It was Christmas Eve, and all around them, couples walked by arm-in-arm, smiling, laughing, chatting. Sakaeguchi couldn’t help but notice it all, hyperaware of how close he was to Abe in this kind of atmosphere. It still made his stomach pleasantly flip, even if they weren’t technically romantically involved like the other pairs. Just two shop owners making their ways home together after a long day of busy work.

All of the couples coming in was exactly why they were walking together now. The coffee shop was kept open for those wanting a quick reprieve from the cold and something to warm up with. The flower shop was open for a lot of customers that decided to come in last-minute to pick up flowers for their date. He couldn’t help but laugh to himself, because despite not planning properly, it was nice to see that people cared enough to be so frantic about not having a gift.

He always loved this time of year. It was something to look forward to despite the shorter and darker days.  The holidays meant twinkling strings of lights even when the sun set early and bows and garland adorning many buildings—things that made the same walk to and from the shop new and exciting, almost magical. Winter was not his favorite season, but being inside the shop with the bright lights and colorful blooms had kept his spirits up. That and his daily foray into one local coffee shop.

Sakaeguchi shivered when he felt something wet hit his ear and something else wet hit his nose. He looked up and grinned as white flakes floated through the sky and towards the ground. He had forgotten to check the weather report that morning and didn’t bring his umbrella with him, but he didn’t mind. Sakaeguchi looked over at Abe and was startled to see that Abe had been watching him.

"What are you so happy about?"

"I really like the snow," he replied, unable to contain the smile. "It’s fun to play in and makes it so the cold weather is worth it sometimes."

"Not very fun when you have to walk through a couple of inches to get to work tomorrow," Abe said with obvious distaste. Sakaeguchi couldn’t help but laugh at the answer he should have by now expected from Abe. They settled back into a comfortable silence, snow slowly collecting in their hair and at one point, even on Abe’s long dark eyelashes, Sakaeguchi couldn’t help but notice.

The crowd had thinned long ago and it was them and the dark, cold, snow-dusted street, as Sakaeguchi’s apartment building loomed into view. They both paused outside. Sakaeguchi was suddenly now very much aware of how alone they were, and he could feel his face begin to flare once more. He nuzzled his face further into the scarf, hoping to hide his reddening cheeks.

"Well, have a good Christmas Eve." He managed to get it out without stumbling over the words, even as his heart leapt into his throat merely thinking about the whole situation. He turned and headed towards the stairs that led to his unit. A few steps away and he felt a resistance. He turned to find Abe holding on to his coat sleeve and moving closer.

Abe gazed down intently at Sakaeguchi, who naturally backed up into the wall behind him after Abe let go of his coat. Sakaeguchi had never seen that intense of a look on Abe before. It was dizzying. There was nowhere left for him to go. Abe leaned an arm on the wall over Sakaeguchi’s head.

_What is he….? He couldn’t. But what else could he be doing? Should I move? Should I leave?_

Abe paused, head tilted slightly, and looked down at Sakaeguchi, their faces centimeters from each other. Their breaths left and mixed together in a visible cloud between them. He didn’t notice how hard he’d been breathing from the adrenaline. Sakaeguchi realized that Abe was giving him a chance to say “no”.

Sakaeguchi slowly closed the gap between them, pulling down his scarf from his mouth to press their lips together. Abe gently pushed forward with this small gesture of permission, and Sakaeguchi could feel the back of his head touch the wall. Their lips never parted and Sakaeguchi could feel the heat radiating from Abe and warmth from the pit of his stomach spreading throughout his body. His lips slid clumsily over Abe’s and he brought his gloved hands up to grip at either lapel of Abe’s coat. He pulled with enough force that Abe had no choice but to press their bodies closer. His knees felt weak and he was glad he had the wall for support.

Abe pulled away for air first and looked at a spot above Sakaeguchi’s head. Curious, he too looked up in the same direction. There was Abe’s hand and in it…

"Mistletoe. Supposed to be good luck when you kiss under it," he murmured, bringing it down to show Sakaeguchi, who flushed a brilliant crimson.

"I know but, A-Abe did you look that up just…for…" He couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence. His head was spinning and he felt light.

Abe nodded.

"Did you know mistletoe is also a parasite? Likes to feed off of trees and can even take over its host entirely," he continued, as nonchalantly as talking about the weather, looking down at the small plant in his hand.

Sakaeguchi blinked a couple of times as he processed what Abe just said.

And burst out laughing.

He moved off of the wall and leaned forward onto his tiptoes, to plant a firm peck on Abe’s lips.

  
"Merry Christmas, Abe."


End file.
